As writers try their darndest to pander to every marketable facet of society, women included, TV shows become inundated with shallow one dimensional characters. For example a writer may sketch out a strong yet beautiful and sassy character, give her awesome powers, but forget to include her in any major fights. This trope is all too common in any medium be it television, literature, or film. In Bleach, one of my favorite (but less so every episode) amines, there are about five girls that I can name off the top of my head that are stated, in series to be extremely powerful, but have yet to participate in a decisive battle to date (two have never been seen fighting at all). Are we supposed to accept this as good enough? Is it alright to just give lip service to the concept of strong female superheroes while the men get all the real action? I say nay! Below is a list of abominations that not only do not further the feminist agenda, but contribute to its not being taken seriously.
William Moulton Marston would weep.
I am surprised by this list. While we are used to a lot of superheroines having powers that may not be considered as useful as the powers of the men in the battlefield, plenty of the women on this list have powers that would obviously make them very strong in a battle. It's sad that even though they have these powers, they are still often depicted as the damsel in distress or as easily beaten, or not even included in battle at all.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I'm hearing the term "faux action girl," but I think I'll be using it a lot in the future. The whole "she's smart, she's strong, she has powers...so why isn't she doing anything except maybe support work" thing happens WAY TOO OFTEN, and especially in shows that involve a co-ed team of heroes. It's a good thing then (and I see some indications of this on the list as well) that some of these then-faux action girls have developed over time into legitimate action girls, whether with fan support or the power of time.
ReplyDeleteThis term is actually so true! I find it also disturbing that one of the biggest reasons these heroines become "faux action girls" is because writers are unwilling to have these women fight and then win against men. Often, they are only shown as strong when fighting against girls. I would love it when there finally comes a day where we see female-male battles instead of just same gender battles.
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